Previously, I tried converting a character from Mongoose's Traveller to MWP's Firefly. With that success behind me, though with questions, let's see how ships transfer over. For this, I need a ship I know, the TANSTAAFL-class* Type M Subsidized Liner.
The Type M first appeared in Classic Traveller's Book 2. The liner carries about twenty passengers, a couple hundred displacement tons of cargo, and a launch for passenger transfer. The range of the vessel is good, capable of Jump-3, though only of 1G acceleration in real space. That's the base model. The Imperial Merchant Ship (IMS) TANSTAAFL I have in mind was converted from the version I just described to become a Q-ship, a pirate hunter far better armed than she appears, with two triple turrets with beam lasers and a miniaturized particle accelerator spinal mount for that extra surprise. With this in mind, let's get going.
29 May 2015
Unruly - Basketball Night In Canada - Chapter 3
Previously:
"The dives are horrible and obvious."
"Cait, you promised not to interfere."
"If you're asking if he's a regular ref, I don't know."
"I'm putting in an official protest of this game. If another of my girls gets hurt, we're leaving."
Unruly
Basketball Night in Canada
Chapter 3 - Clock's Ticking
Caitlin watched as Heidi and her friend had a whispered conversation. Heidi stepped forward first. "Fine. We'll help. For the sake of our team, not yours."
"Help is help." Caitlin turned to the friend. "I need a name. Unless you want us to call you 'Heidi's Friend' all night."
"Tanya." Heidi's friend held out her hand.
Caitlin shook Tanya's hand. "Good. I'm Caitlin, these are Laura and Autumn. Laura, what did you find out?"
"The dives are horrible and obvious."
"Cait, you promised not to interfere."
"If you're asking if he's a regular ref, I don't know."
"I'm putting in an official protest of this game. If another of my girls gets hurt, we're leaving."
Unruly
Basketball Night in Canada
Chapter 3 - Clock's Ticking
Caitlin watched as Heidi and her friend had a whispered conversation. Heidi stepped forward first. "Fine. We'll help. For the sake of our team, not yours."
"Help is help." Caitlin turned to the friend. "I need a name. Unless you want us to call you 'Heidi's Friend' all night."
"Tanya." Heidi's friend held out her hand.
Caitlin shook Tanya's hand. "Good. I'm Caitlin, these are Laura and Autumn. Laura, what did you find out?"
28 May 2015
Unruly - Basketball Night in Canada Chapter 2 - Commentary
The Gephardt Phoenix want a clean game, but the Simcoe Loyalists aren't obliging. Welcome to the commentary for "A Nice, Friendly Game". Please read the chapter first before continuing.
While the Unrulies have left the safety* of the Academy in the past two episodes, they haven't dealt with anyone that isn't from St. Dymphna in the series. That oversight is corrected. The other schools in Oshawa haven't faced against either the Academy or St. Dyphmna before because the two rivals kept getting suspended for the season. Heidi has heard the stories, but has dismissed them as rumour. Her friend isn't so sure. Heidi's wrong about the stealing; the Unrulies wouldn't steal everything not nailed down. Some would bring claw hammers and crowbars. The rest would find a way to just take the entire building. Autumn summed it up, they're supervillians-in-training. Stealing one computer is beneath their efforts.
St. Dymphna also has a reputation, one they work to keep unmarred. In the war of public relations, St. Dymphna has managed to make the Unrulies look like the aggressor. The girls of both schools know better, but the public perception is that St. Dymphna is the innocent party. It's a useful perception for when police get involved.
The basketball game is the impetus for the plot, it's not the central action. I know just enough of the sport to know I don't know enough of it to write a full game. Thus, the action in the stands and the cuts to significant plays on the court. Skye is very unimpressed by the dive her opponent took. The soccer reference is to some of the overacted dives players have made on the field**.
The Unrulies have set a record. The game hasn't been called, nor have the riot squads arrived. The match is still clean, with no bleeding. The previous year's game against St. Dymphna ended in a brawl after Skye tried a rebound pass off the face of Sarah, one of Verity's people. Sarah didn't take kindly to that, and, well, any semblance to a basketball game ended and things fell apart fast.
Coach Cherry wants a win. She'd be ecstatic with a complete game, too, as would the team. For once, they have a shot of finishing a game. Caitlin wants to help Skye. She also hates seeing her school being messed with. She weasled her promise to Skye last chapter to leave room to act. Caitlin is also dealing with an unknown school. Most of her schemes involved St. Dymphna and Verity. She never expected that another school would dare get involved.
The basketball game is degenerating. The Phoenix are trying to keep playing, but the Loyalists aren't making it easy. Skye's bloodied nose could have been the end if Felicia hadn't grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Felicia was taking her life into her own hands; for all she knew, Skye could have been past her breaking point and wouldn't have cared who she hit. Even the Simcoe students in the stands see the game as getting out of hand.
Tomorrow, Unruly: Basketball Night in Canada Chapter 3, "Clock's Ticking".
Also tomorrow, over at Psycho Drive-In, the history of adaptations continues with the top movies of the 1950s.
Saturday, over at MuseHack, The Evil Dead.
Also Saturday, check out Comics Bulletin for comics-related reposts of Lost in Translation.
* Barring kidnapped Jennifers and tipsy killer robots.
** Between the time I wrote the post and the time it came out, the world of soccer took a bizarre turn. Several over FIFA's top officials were arrested on corruption charges. Makes what's happening in this episode look tame, really.
While the Unrulies have left the safety* of the Academy in the past two episodes, they haven't dealt with anyone that isn't from St. Dymphna in the series. That oversight is corrected. The other schools in Oshawa haven't faced against either the Academy or St. Dyphmna before because the two rivals kept getting suspended for the season. Heidi has heard the stories, but has dismissed them as rumour. Her friend isn't so sure. Heidi's wrong about the stealing; the Unrulies wouldn't steal everything not nailed down. Some would bring claw hammers and crowbars. The rest would find a way to just take the entire building. Autumn summed it up, they're supervillians-in-training. Stealing one computer is beneath their efforts.
St. Dymphna also has a reputation, one they work to keep unmarred. In the war of public relations, St. Dymphna has managed to make the Unrulies look like the aggressor. The girls of both schools know better, but the public perception is that St. Dymphna is the innocent party. It's a useful perception for when police get involved.
The basketball game is the impetus for the plot, it's not the central action. I know just enough of the sport to know I don't know enough of it to write a full game. Thus, the action in the stands and the cuts to significant plays on the court. Skye is very unimpressed by the dive her opponent took. The soccer reference is to some of the overacted dives players have made on the field**.
The Unrulies have set a record. The game hasn't been called, nor have the riot squads arrived. The match is still clean, with no bleeding. The previous year's game against St. Dymphna ended in a brawl after Skye tried a rebound pass off the face of Sarah, one of Verity's people. Sarah didn't take kindly to that, and, well, any semblance to a basketball game ended and things fell apart fast.
Coach Cherry wants a win. She'd be ecstatic with a complete game, too, as would the team. For once, they have a shot of finishing a game. Caitlin wants to help Skye. She also hates seeing her school being messed with. She weasled her promise to Skye last chapter to leave room to act. Caitlin is also dealing with an unknown school. Most of her schemes involved St. Dymphna and Verity. She never expected that another school would dare get involved.
The basketball game is degenerating. The Phoenix are trying to keep playing, but the Loyalists aren't making it easy. Skye's bloodied nose could have been the end if Felicia hadn't grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Felicia was taking her life into her own hands; for all she knew, Skye could have been past her breaking point and wouldn't have cared who she hit. Even the Simcoe students in the stands see the game as getting out of hand.
Tomorrow, Unruly: Basketball Night in Canada Chapter 3, "Clock's Ticking".
Also tomorrow, over at Psycho Drive-In, the history of adaptations continues with the top movies of the 1950s.
Saturday, over at MuseHack, The Evil Dead.
Also Saturday, check out Comics Bulletin for comics-related reposts of Lost in Translation.
* Barring kidnapped Jennifers and tipsy killer robots.
** Between the time I wrote the post and the time it came out, the world of soccer took a bizarre turn. Several over FIFA's top officials were arrested on corruption charges. Makes what's happening in this episode look tame, really.
27 May 2015
Hacking Cortex+ - Traveller's Third Imperium
I'm still working on a couple of hacks of the Margaret Weis Productions game, Firefly, including one for Reboot that I've mentioned before. The other hack is for Traveller's Third Imperium, focusing on the Spinward Marches. Most of the work will focus on adapting* the existing distinctions for the Third Imperium setting. After all, Firefly does look like someone's Traveller campaign, centred on the lives of the crew of a Free Trader.
24 May 2015
NaNo Musing - 2015 Edition
Camp NaNo is over, and was a nice relaxing writing sprint. Managed to get stuff done without having to use a laser-like focus on one project. However, November is coming. I have four months to figure out what to write and get the prep work done. NaNoWriMo 2015 will be my tenth go at it. I was considering skipping for a year, but this is not that year. This may be the big one, though. As such, I want to be ready.
Good thing I have a few ideas already.
The obvious project is a continuation of Unruly. After all, I have the characters, I have the ideas, and I don't need to worry about filling out a novel's worth of ideas when I can use several novellas instead. There are plot hooks dangling, from Laura's testimony to the mysterious person or persons working against Caitlin and the Academy. Worst case, I escalate the Caitlin-Verity war for an episode. For more fun, I have an idea where Autumn does her own thing against Caroline.
The next idea is one I've been toying with for a couple of years. Potentially set in the Subject 13-verse, the idea uses a concept I've played with in an RPG. Imagine, if you can, a suit of steam-powered power armour, with canister launchers*. The story, tentatively called The Clockwork Avenger, would straddle two eras. The first era is Victorian London, where the first Clockwork Armour would be built and used to fight the forces of darkness. The second era is today, with the descendant of the original builder receiving the plans for the power suit. The clockwork becomes digital instead of analog. All I need now is a plot that can span about 150 years.
In a similar vein, I've been trying to work out a team of heroes doing what Batman does, but without his wealth. Using the working title Streetwise Valyries, the team fights crime in a city that is currently Chicago but may move elsewhere. The Valkyries have a uniform, a costume that makes each member look similar enough that they're seen as just one hero. The difficult part is trying to get all the needed equipment together without being traceable. Batman may have Wayne Enterprises to launder purchases; the Valkyries need to be careful.
The last idea, but certainly not the least, involves taking an idea I had for a Star Trek story and filing off the serial numbers. The characters I had in mind were my own; I was using the Trek setting, set during the Next Generation era, to pull together several ideas together. Without the Star Trek details, I can move the story to a new colony and not worry about stepping on trademarks. Thus, the security officer who hates Orions becomes a Star Navy boarder who hates an unspecified neighbouring nation, and lets me step away from the baggage of Trek. This idea may work better as a serial, like Unruly, so will require more thought.
Good thing I have four months.
* As an aside, never launch an ether canister into a room lit solely by candles. The ether ceases to be non-lethal when exposed to open flame.
Good thing I have a few ideas already.
The obvious project is a continuation of Unruly. After all, I have the characters, I have the ideas, and I don't need to worry about filling out a novel's worth of ideas when I can use several novellas instead. There are plot hooks dangling, from Laura's testimony to the mysterious person or persons working against Caitlin and the Academy. Worst case, I escalate the Caitlin-Verity war for an episode. For more fun, I have an idea where Autumn does her own thing against Caroline.
The next idea is one I've been toying with for a couple of years. Potentially set in the Subject 13-verse, the idea uses a concept I've played with in an RPG. Imagine, if you can, a suit of steam-powered power armour, with canister launchers*. The story, tentatively called The Clockwork Avenger, would straddle two eras. The first era is Victorian London, where the first Clockwork Armour would be built and used to fight the forces of darkness. The second era is today, with the descendant of the original builder receiving the plans for the power suit. The clockwork becomes digital instead of analog. All I need now is a plot that can span about 150 years.
In a similar vein, I've been trying to work out a team of heroes doing what Batman does, but without his wealth. Using the working title Streetwise Valyries, the team fights crime in a city that is currently Chicago but may move elsewhere. The Valkyries have a uniform, a costume that makes each member look similar enough that they're seen as just one hero. The difficult part is trying to get all the needed equipment together without being traceable. Batman may have Wayne Enterprises to launder purchases; the Valkyries need to be careful.
The last idea, but certainly not the least, involves taking an idea I had for a Star Trek story and filing off the serial numbers. The characters I had in mind were my own; I was using the Trek setting, set during the Next Generation era, to pull together several ideas together. Without the Star Trek details, I can move the story to a new colony and not worry about stepping on trademarks. Thus, the security officer who hates Orions becomes a Star Navy boarder who hates an unspecified neighbouring nation, and lets me step away from the baggage of Trek. This idea may work better as a serial, like Unruly, so will require more thought.
Good thing I have four months.
* As an aside, never launch an ether canister into a room lit solely by candles. The ether ceases to be non-lethal when exposed to open flame.
22 May 2015
Unruly - Basketball Night In Canada - Chapter 2
Previously:
"Wait, we're not facing St. Dymphna?"
"The team won't be suspended for the year the first game of the season."
"One game that counts instead of the usual brawl between us and the Dymphnoids."
"Me, I'm not even betting on the game."
Unruly
Basketball Night in Canada
Chapter 2 - A Nice, Friendly Game
The stands at Simcoe Secondary School were half filled when Caitlin led Autumn and Laura in. Both teams, the Gephardt Phoenix and the home team Simcoe Loyalists, were on the basketball court, warming up in their respective half of the floor. Caitlin glanced down, easily finding Skye in her orange t-shirt and grey shorts, the number seven on her back. She waved to her roommate, then found a spot in the stands to sit. Laura and Autumn sat down on either side of the redhead. The buzzer blared, ending the warmup on the floor. Both teams returned to their benches.
"This is what I was expecting from high school," Laura remarked. She looked around.
Autumn adjusted her skirt, increasing the gap between the top of her stocking and the hem a bit more. "Not as many boys as I thought there'd be."
"Girls basketball." Caitlin brushed her red hair back. "Boys aren't as interested."
"There are girls in shorts and t-shirts." Autumn tossed back her hair. "And, today, me."
"Wait, we're not facing St. Dymphna?"
"The team won't be suspended for the year the first game of the season."
"One game that counts instead of the usual brawl between us and the Dymphnoids."
"Me, I'm not even betting on the game."
Unruly
Basketball Night in Canada
Chapter 2 - A Nice, Friendly Game
The stands at Simcoe Secondary School were half filled when Caitlin led Autumn and Laura in. Both teams, the Gephardt Phoenix and the home team Simcoe Loyalists, were on the basketball court, warming up in their respective half of the floor. Caitlin glanced down, easily finding Skye in her orange t-shirt and grey shorts, the number seven on her back. She waved to her roommate, then found a spot in the stands to sit. Laura and Autumn sat down on either side of the redhead. The buzzer blared, ending the warmup on the floor. Both teams returned to their benches.
"This is what I was expecting from high school," Laura remarked. She looked around.
Autumn adjusted her skirt, increasing the gap between the top of her stocking and the hem a bit more. "Not as many boys as I thought there'd be."
"Girls basketball." Caitlin brushed her red hair back. "Boys aren't as interested."
"There are girls in shorts and t-shirts." Autumn tossed back her hair. "And, today, me."
21 May 2015
Unruly - Basketball Night in Canada Chapter 1 - Commentary
A new episode* has started! Please read "Miracle on the Courts" first before continuing.
For those just joining, welcome! Everyone else, welcome back! Basketball Night in Canada has started. It was started during NaNoWriMo 2014 and was completed during Camp NaNo in April. It's a longer stint, too, but hopefully still interesting.
The episode starts with Laura having a crisis, Caitlin and Autumn being jealous of their new roommate and unusual news for Skye. Laura's crisis comes from personal experience, though she's getting far less sympathy than I did. Mr. Baker, the English teacher, has an effect on the girls, though not all. Laura seems to be immune. Caitlin? Not so much.
The poor junior taking the schedule to the basketball team has foreseen Skye's questions and has, in a bored tone, answered them. The unasked questions: "Is it for real?" and "Are you sure?" The FAQ is a nice touch and has such answers as, "No, it's not April," and, "Just read the damn schedule." It even saw Autumn's question coming.
I keep mentioning this, but Simcoe Secondary School doesn't exist. The name appears throughout southern Ontario, thanks to John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. Simcoe established the legislature in York, now known as Toronto**, thus ensuring that his name would be on streets and schools throughout the region. Is there a Simcoe Secondary in Ontario? Yep. One in St. Catharines and a Simcoe Composite School in Simcoe. None in Oshawa.
Caitlin takes the news in her normal way; she starts looking at how it can be used for her own ends. It's something she can't control. Caitlin always has a plot or a scheme. It's like breathing for her. She is keeping her promise; Skye should have worded her request better. Laura is getting a great lesson about phrasing requests here.
I had to work out the schools' team names and mascots for this. For the Academy, that was done before I started. Their teams are called the Phoenix, after the mythical bird that gets reborn from its own dying flames. Meant to be symbolic, really, reflecting the students being reformed from their previous paths of destruction, such as Laura's drug making and Caitlin's school board takeover. For Simcoe, the obvious came up, the Loyalists, named after the United Empire Loyalists, the guys who remained loyal to the British crown despite the revolt in the colonies to the south. Being named after a Lieutenant-Governor helped with that decision.
I got to engage in Canada's second favourite sport, making fun of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not everyone enjoys it. There are people in Toronto who, like Laura, believe the city has a professional hockey team. However, when a team is mathematically eliminated on the Ides of March and hasn't won the Stanley Cup for four decades, people can argue that there isn't one. There have been rumours - fantasy dreams, really - that the NHL will add two Canadian teams, in Halifax and in Toronto. I, for one, will be happy to see Toronto finally get a professional hockey team.
Laura's neighbours are fun to have appear. Vamsi is a fence, a fixer, the second guy in "I know a guy who knows a guy, no names." She has contacts throughout the 905 and 416 area codes, covering the Greater Toronto Area***. Flora's the mad scientist from The New Girl, the one using recycled squirrel brains as a gyro for her laser-equipped robots. Flora's twin sister is Fawna, who has gone the goth route in her fashion choices. No one bothers to tell them apart despite them not looking alike anymore. Finally, we have Cassie, the butt of almost as many jokes as the Maple Leafs. I probably should feel guilty for presenting Cassie has the brainless blonde. I do have plans for her that make up for that. Cassie does get back at her classmates; notice that she never calls anyone by their proper name. Even Laura gets the treatment, getting dubbed "Lorelei" instead.
Vamsi is doing well in history. Her quote is based on one attributed to Henry II, "Will no one rid me of this turbulant priest?" Henry was upset about Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was resisting the king's attempts to exert more control over the Roman Catholic Church in England. Several knights decided to answer that question with, "Me!" and murdered the Archbishop, which didn't endear the king to the Pope, Alexander III. Cassie is luckier; Flora and Fawna are too busy to pay attention to what Vamsi is saying and Laura isn't that desperate to get into the Maple Leafs' locker room.
Tomorrow, the next chapter of Unruly: Basketball Night in Canada episode, Chapter 2, "A Nice, Friendly Game".
Also tomorrow, over at Psycho Drive-In, hiatus week for Lost in Translation.
Saturday, over at MuseHack, the history of adaptations continues with the top movies of the 1950s.
Also Saturday, check out Comics Bulletin for comics-related reposts of Lost in Translation.
* I need to figure out what to call the individual stories under the Unruly arc. Episode fits better for now.
** As opposed to the current York, which is now part of Toronto, too.
*** As it's called, despite not having a decent hockey team.
For those just joining, welcome! Everyone else, welcome back! Basketball Night in Canada has started. It was started during NaNoWriMo 2014 and was completed during Camp NaNo in April. It's a longer stint, too, but hopefully still interesting.
The episode starts with Laura having a crisis, Caitlin and Autumn being jealous of their new roommate and unusual news for Skye. Laura's crisis comes from personal experience, though she's getting far less sympathy than I did. Mr. Baker, the English teacher, has an effect on the girls, though not all. Laura seems to be immune. Caitlin? Not so much.
The poor junior taking the schedule to the basketball team has foreseen Skye's questions and has, in a bored tone, answered them. The unasked questions: "Is it for real?" and "Are you sure?" The FAQ is a nice touch and has such answers as, "No, it's not April," and, "Just read the damn schedule." It even saw Autumn's question coming.
I keep mentioning this, but Simcoe Secondary School doesn't exist. The name appears throughout southern Ontario, thanks to John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. Simcoe established the legislature in York, now known as Toronto**, thus ensuring that his name would be on streets and schools throughout the region. Is there a Simcoe Secondary in Ontario? Yep. One in St. Catharines and a Simcoe Composite School in Simcoe. None in Oshawa.
Caitlin takes the news in her normal way; she starts looking at how it can be used for her own ends. It's something she can't control. Caitlin always has a plot or a scheme. It's like breathing for her. She is keeping her promise; Skye should have worded her request better. Laura is getting a great lesson about phrasing requests here.
I had to work out the schools' team names and mascots for this. For the Academy, that was done before I started. Their teams are called the Phoenix, after the mythical bird that gets reborn from its own dying flames. Meant to be symbolic, really, reflecting the students being reformed from their previous paths of destruction, such as Laura's drug making and Caitlin's school board takeover. For Simcoe, the obvious came up, the Loyalists, named after the United Empire Loyalists, the guys who remained loyal to the British crown despite the revolt in the colonies to the south. Being named after a Lieutenant-Governor helped with that decision.
I got to engage in Canada's second favourite sport, making fun of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not everyone enjoys it. There are people in Toronto who, like Laura, believe the city has a professional hockey team. However, when a team is mathematically eliminated on the Ides of March and hasn't won the Stanley Cup for four decades, people can argue that there isn't one. There have been rumours - fantasy dreams, really - that the NHL will add two Canadian teams, in Halifax and in Toronto. I, for one, will be happy to see Toronto finally get a professional hockey team.
Laura's neighbours are fun to have appear. Vamsi is a fence, a fixer, the second guy in "I know a guy who knows a guy, no names." She has contacts throughout the 905 and 416 area codes, covering the Greater Toronto Area***. Flora's the mad scientist from The New Girl, the one using recycled squirrel brains as a gyro for her laser-equipped robots. Flora's twin sister is Fawna, who has gone the goth route in her fashion choices. No one bothers to tell them apart despite them not looking alike anymore. Finally, we have Cassie, the butt of almost as many jokes as the Maple Leafs. I probably should feel guilty for presenting Cassie has the brainless blonde. I do have plans for her that make up for that. Cassie does get back at her classmates; notice that she never calls anyone by their proper name. Even Laura gets the treatment, getting dubbed "Lorelei" instead.
Vamsi is doing well in history. Her quote is based on one attributed to Henry II, "Will no one rid me of this turbulant priest?" Henry was upset about Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was resisting the king's attempts to exert more control over the Roman Catholic Church in England. Several knights decided to answer that question with, "Me!" and murdered the Archbishop, which didn't endear the king to the Pope, Alexander III. Cassie is luckier; Flora and Fawna are too busy to pay attention to what Vamsi is saying and Laura isn't that desperate to get into the Maple Leafs' locker room.
Tomorrow, the next chapter of Unruly: Basketball Night in Canada episode, Chapter 2, "A Nice, Friendly Game".
Also tomorrow, over at Psycho Drive-In, hiatus week for Lost in Translation.
Saturday, over at MuseHack, the history of adaptations continues with the top movies of the 1950s.
Also Saturday, check out Comics Bulletin for comics-related reposts of Lost in Translation.
* I need to figure out what to call the individual stories under the Unruly arc. Episode fits better for now.
** As opposed to the current York, which is now part of Toronto, too.
*** As it's called, despite not having a decent hockey team.
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